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John 7:42
Hath not the scripture said, That Christ cometh of the seed of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, where David was?

John 10:35
If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken;

John 19:37
And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

The spirit.

Genesis 4:5,6
But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell…

Genesis 6:5
And GOD saw that the wickedness of manwas great in the earth, andthat every imagination of the thoughts of his heartwas only evil continually.

Genesis 8:21
And the LORD smelled a sweet savour; and the LORD said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heartis evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.

to envy.

that the Spirit He caused to dwell in us
This refers to the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit in believers, a concept rooted in the New Testament. The Holy Spirit is given to believers as a seal and guarantee of their inheritance (Ephesians 1:13-14). The indwelling Spirit is a fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, such asEzekiel 36:27, where God promises to put His Spirit within His people. This indwelling signifies a new covenant relationship with God, where His laws are written on the hearts of believers (Jeremiah 31:33).

yearns with envy?
The phrase suggests a deep, intense desire of the Spirit for the devotion and faithfulness of believers. This yearning can be understood in the context of God's jealousy for His people, a theme present throughout the Old Testament (Exodus 34:14). God's jealousy is not like human envy but is a righteous desire for His people to remain faithful to Him, avoiding idolatry and spiritual adultery. This reflects the covenant relationship between God and His people, akin to a marriage, where God desires exclusive devotion (Hosea 2:19-20).

• James opens with a challenge: “Do you think…?” He assumes his readers already know better, echoing Jesus’ “Have you not read…?” (Matthew 22:29).

• Scripture is never to be handled casually (2 Timothy 2:15). The question exposes any tendency to excuse compromise with the world that James has just rebuked (James 4:4).

• God’s Word always speaks with purpose (Isaiah 55:11). To imagine otherwise questions the Author’s wisdom.

• James likely alludes to the many passages describing God’s jealousy for His people—e.g., “For the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Exodus 34:14).

• The warning rings true for every age: ignoring Scripture’s plain meaning opens the door to spiritual adultery (Psalm 119:9–11).

• At conversion God places His Spirit within believers (Ezekiel 36:27;John 14:17).

• This indwelling is personal and permanent—“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you?” (1 Corinthians 6:19).

• Because the Spirit Himself authored Scripture (2 Peter 1:21), He now applies it from the inside, refusing to coexist with divided loyalties.

• “Yearns” pictures intense longing; “with envy” points to God’s holy jealousy. Unlike human envy, His is pure love insisting on our undivided devotion (Deuteronomy 4:24).

• The Spirit’s yearning is:

– To draw us back when our hearts drift (Galatians 5:17).

– To secure us exclusively for Christ, as Paul says, “I promised you to one husband…to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

– To protect the joy of that relationship, since friendship with the world makes us “an enemy of God” (James 4:4).

James 4:5 reminds us that Scripture always speaks deliberately, revealing a God who has implanted His own Spirit within us. That Spirit is not passive; He burns with a righteous jealousy whenever we flirt with worldliness. Recognizing the Bible’s authority and the Spirit’s passionate claim on our hearts moves us to wholehearted, exclusive devotion to the Lord who lovingly yearns for us.

Many commentators have been puzzled to say whence the words came which are quoted as authoritative by St. James. Surely the substance was sufficient for him, as for other inspired writers, without a slavish adherence to the form: comp.Genesis 2:7 for the inbreathing of the Spirit, with any such chapter as Deuteronomy 32 for His jealous inquisition. It must, however, be noted that a slightly varied punctuation of the verse will give quite another sense to its questioning. (See Wordsworth.)Suppose ye that the Scripture speaketh in vain? Doth the Spirit, which took up His abode in you, lust to envy? And defensible or not as this translation may be, at least it escapes some of the difficulties of the foregoing. (Exhaustive notes, with references to most authorities, are in Alford; or an easy summary of the matter may be read in Plumptre'sSt. James.)

(1)In the text: "Doth the Spirit which he made to dwell in us long unto envying? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore the Scripture saith," etc.

(2)Margin 1: "The Spirit which he made to dwell in us he yearneth for even unto jealous envy. But he giveth," etc.

(3)Margin 2: "That Spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy. But he giveth," etc. Further, it is noted in the margin that some ancient authorities read "dwelleth in us,"i.e.κατώκησεν, which is the reading of the Received Text, and so of the A.V. resting upon K, L;א and B being the primary authorities forκατώκισεν. With regard to the first clause, the rendering of the R.V., "speaketh," may be justified byHebrews 9:5. It is possible that St. James was intending to quoteProverbs 3:34 immediately, but after the introductory formula,η} δοκεῖτεὅτι κενῶς ἡ γραφὴ λέγει, he interposes with the emphatic question, "Is it toenvy," etc.? and does not arrive at the quotation till ver. 6, when he introduces it with a fresh formula of quotation,διὸ λέγει, a looseness of construction which is quite natural in a Hebrew. Other views, for which it is believed there is less to be urged, are the following: . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...